The Chronicles of the Celts: New Tellings of Their Myths and Legends

by Peter Berresford Ellis

The stirring sagas of gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, enchanted weapons and fantastic beasts from all six Celtic cultures -- Irish, Scots, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, and Breton -- are retold from ancient times in a major new collection for a modern readership.

Genres: History, Mythology, Nonfiction, Paganism, Religion, Folklore

544 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 1999

About the author

Peter Berresford Ellis is a historian, literary biographer, and novelist who has published over 90 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonyms Peter Tremayne and Peter MacAlan. He has also published 95 short stories. His non-fiction books, articles and academic papers have made him acknowledged as an authority on Celtic history and culture. Under Peter Tremayne, he is the author of the international bestselling Sister Fidelma mystery series. His work has appeared in 25 languages.

He began his career as a junior reporter on an English south coast weekly, becoming deputy editor of an Irish weekly newspaper and was then editor of a weekly trade journal in London. He first went as a feature writer to Northern Ireland in 1964 for a London daily newspaper which had a profound effect on him. His first book was published in 1968: Wales: a Nation Again, on the Welsh struggle for political independence, with a foreword by Gwynfor Evans, Plaid Cymru's first Member of Parliament. In 1975 he became a full-time writer. He used his academic background to produce many popular titles in the field of Celtic Studies and he has written numerous academic articles and papers in the field for journals ranging from The Linguist (London) to The Irish Sword: Journal of the Irish Military History Society (UCD). He is highly regarded by academics in his own field and was described by The Times Higher Education Supplement, London, (June, 1999) as one of the leading authorities on the Celts then writing. He has been International Chairman of the Celtic League 1988–1990; chairman of Scrif-Celt (The Celtic Languages Book Fair in 1985 and in 1986); chairman and vice-president of the London Association for Celtic Education 1989–1995, and now is an Hon. Life Member); He was also chairman of his local ward Labour Party in London, England, and was editorial advisor on Labour and Ireland magazine in the early 1990s. He is a member of the Society of Authors.

Apart from his Celtic Studies interests, Ellis has always been fascinated by aspects of popular literature and has written full-length biographies on H. Rider Haggard, W. E. Johns, Talbot Mundy as well as critical essays on many more popular fiction authors. His own output in the fictional field, writing in the genre of horror fantasy and heroic fantasy, began in 1977 when the first "Peter Tremayne" book appeared. Between 1983 and 1993 he also wrote eight adventure thrillers under the name "Peter MacAlan". Ellis has published (as of January, 2009) a total of 91 books, 95 short stories, several pamphlets, and numerous academic papers and signed journalistic articles. Under his own name he wrote two long running columns: 'Anonn is Anall' (Here and There) from 1987–2008 for the Irish Democrat, and, "Anois agus Arís" (Now and Again) from 2000–2008 for The Irish Post. His books break down into 34 titles under his own name; 8 titles under the pseudonym of Peter MacAlan and 49 titles under his pseudonym of Peter Tremayne. He has lectured widely at universities in several countries, including the UK, Ireland, American, Canada, France and Italy. He has also broadcast on television and radio since 1968. With the great popularity of his 7th Century set Sister Fidelma Mysteries, in January, 2001, an International Sister Fidelma Society was formed in Charleston, South Carolina, with a website and producing a print magazine three times a year called The Brehon. In 2006 the Cashel Arts Fest established the first three-day international gathering of fans of the series which is now held bi-annually and receives the full support of the Society

Reviews

[October · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is just a survey, I found it very amusing--but, then again, the compilations of Celtic legend that I've come across here have been scanty at best.Seeing something that goes beyond "The Children of Lir" and one or two common Cuchullain stories for the Irish section is good in my book. However, Ellis did not stop there. I've poked my nose into a few books about Celtic mythology, and I've never heard of the vast majority of these stories (and they were delightful, if I might say!).

That being said, seeing names and terms in the original language was actually rather delightful (though I'm horrid at Welsh and probably butchered all of those names as I read!); what I'm trying to say here is that, for me, it lends something to the story when you say 'Fionn MacCumhaill' rather than 'Finn McCool.' Or, perhaps, it wasn't even that! Considering Ellis is also the author of the Sister Fidelma mysteries, he has quite the authorial voice--and this shows itself in his retellings of these myths (much to thee reader's enjoyment, I might add). Not are most of the chosen stories entertaining, you can almost hear a little storyteller in your head.

While this is just a survey of Celtic folklore in general, it's definitely something for both those relatively acquainted with the topic and for those who have only ever heard of King Arthur.

[Alexandra Rizzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read extensively about the Celtic culture and while Mr. Ellis repeats some of the foremost known myths, he does add a few that are hard to come by. He also gives a short primer on linguistic and archeological items. His writing style is clear and crisp, which helps when reading about the mythology of the Celtic people.

[John Brewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a decent read. It's not really a history of the Celts as much as it is a cultural study. Some sections were interesting, including the sections on Druids, Celtic Women, and Celtic Myth and Religion. Then some dragged, such as the Celtic Roadbuilding and Celtic Cosmology sections. The writing itself was concise, if a little academic.